Bruce Duane Emerick

Bruce Duane Emerick, 92, passed away on October 30, 2023 in Covington, LA. Bruce was born in Flint, MI in August, 1931 to Floyd M. Emerick and A. Beth Larmie.

He attended High School in Flint, then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at Tri-State College (now Trine University) in Angola, IN. He married his high school sweetheart, Nancy A. Harrell in 1952 and the couple resided in Flint, MI and then on to Fort Niagara, NY; Huntsville, AL; New Orleans, LA and Picayune, MS. Except for brief stints in the U.S Army and civil infrastructure, Bruce’s career was spent in aerospace specializing in liquid propellant rockets at Bell Aircraft, Reaction Motors (X-15), Chrysler Corp. and Martin Marrietta (now Lockheed-Martin), first on the Jupiter missile, then on the Saturn S- 1B for the Apollo program, including the US-USSR Apollo-Soyuz mission, and finally on the External Tank for the Space Shuttle Program.

Bruce had many hobbies: licensed pilot, certified scuba diver, patented inventor, wood-worker, history buff and voracious reader. He was a dedicated life-long learner and regular contributor to Letters to the Editor in local newspapers. He sky-dived for the first time at age 84 because, he rationalized, he’d never done it before.

He travelled extensively, including coast to coast in the US, Canada, Egypt, Europe, Greece and Panama, and enjoyed Happy Hour around the world with favorites gin martinis and Rusty Nails. He did extensive genealogy research, tracing his family back to the 1600’s. Bruce was always interested in making the world a better place through the many charitable organizations he supported.

He was preceded in death by his wife Nancy, brother Keith and his parents. He will be missed by daughter, Lee, sons Brad (Lisa Carlson) and Matt (Freya Katz), grandchildren Blake, Brianna, Rohen and Quinton Emerick, and niece Kathy Farber Hartness (Phil Hartness).

Bruce will be interred at Picayune Memorial Cemetery with his wife. A Celebration of Bruce’s life will be held on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 , at Christwood Retirement Community in the Garden Room, 100 Christwood Blvd, Covington, LA 70433. Family and friends are invited to attend the open house from 1:30- 3:30 pm with a eulogy at 2pm.

The family extends their sincere gratitude to the staff of Christwood Retirement Community and Traditions
Hospice for their support and care.

Remembrances can be shared at Bagnell and Sons Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be
made to STARC whose mission is to serve individuals with disABILITIES https://www.starcla.org/donate-now/ .

Click the link below to view the obituary for Bruce Duane Emerick

https://www.bagnellfuneralhome.com/obituaries/bruce-emerick